Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll expected to more than double, says UN aid chief
The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria is likely to more than double, a UN aid chief has told Sky News.
More than 25,000 people are known to have dead after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday, with multiple aftershocks.
Speaking to Sky’s Kay Burley in the quake-hit city of Adana in Turkey, Martin Griffiths said he expected tens of thousands more deaths to be confirmed.
Quake is region’s ‘worst event in 100 years’; death toll passes 25,000 | Turkey-Syria latest
The scene of destruction in Kahramanmaras, central Turkey, after the quake
Mr Griffiths, the UN’s emergency relief co-ordinator, said: “I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but I’m sure it will double or more.
“That’s terrifying. This is nature striking back in a really harsh way.”
He added: “It’s deeply shocking… the idea that these mountains of rubble still hold people, some of them still alive.
“We haven’t really begun to count the number of dead.”
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Facing the earthquake aftermath alone
With hopes fading for those trapped under wreckage in Turkey and Syria, Mr Griffiths said rescue efforts were now in their final stages.
“They say 72 hours is the golden period (for rescues),” he said.
“But just now they have pulled out someone alive an hour two ago. It must be incredibly difficult to decide when to stop this rescue phase and move into the next phase which is also going to have its problems.”
While Mr Griffiths praised the international aid response to Turkey as “phenomenal and heartening”, there has been a stark divide in the offers to Syria.
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‘They simply can’t cope’ with number of dead
The country has been hit by years of civil war and condemnation of its ruling regime’s treatment of its people, creating difficulties in getting aid into the country.
Aid agencies are likely to face difficulties accessing northern Syria, much of which is controlled by rebel groups who have been battling the regime.
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Mr Griffiths said it is “much more difficult for [Syria] to cope with this tragedy because of those desperate lost years”.
He added: “The awful truth about Syria from a humanitarian perspective is that the needs of the people of Syria grow each year and despite generous funding, we fail to meet those needs. As a result, the people who live in absolute poverty in Syria grows – now 90% of the population.”
The leader of the White Helmets emergency volunteer group has criticised the UN’s response in Syria, saying rebel-held areas had not received any aid from the organisation since the earthquake.
The UN is not authorised to deliver aid into Syria through other border crossings under a UN Security Council resolution.
However the council is set to discuss whether to allow it to provide aid to rebel-held areas of Syria through more than one Turkish border crossing with a decision due next week.
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn’t guarantee Ukraine’s security
Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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